Aloe IDs Please

borrego(Z 10 L.A. Cal.)February 6, 2006

Two aloes that asked permission to hitchhike to my house. The one on the left is A. crfyptopoda, I believe. The one on the right baffles me. It looks like A. striata, but has parallel vertical lines on one side of the leaf and whitish spots on the other side. What do you think?

The one could well be cryptopoda, it's a little hard to tell at that age... but the other one is NOT striata! True striata has no spines along the leaf edge, and its characteristic thin red line on the leaf margin (from which it gets its name) shows up very early on. It might be a striata hybrid, they show up all the time in nurseries being passed off for the true species.

Patrick - I am clueless as to the striata lookalike. Could easily be a hybrid, just thought it was unusual one side of the leaf has vertical stripes on it while the underside of the leaf has white spots. Strange. I do know there are a couple of varieties of striata, I will just wait and see (and grow this) to see what it looks like when bigger. If nothing else, it is a hybrid and I all ready have a trader!

The left plant could also be wickensii.
The plants on the right look more like microstigma but it is hard to tell from the photo. I find most striata hybrids look like striata with a few small spines...
Peyton

Yes, Borrego, cryptopoda and wickensii are synonymous - the latter name is no longer generally accepted.
Do you have Van Wyk's book? It only covers the South African aloes, so there are some species not listed - but I find it indispensable.

We've ID'd that plant twice here as Aloe peglerae. I don't mean to sound unfriendly, but what is it that leads to believe it isn't as we've indicated? It is a juvenile, that's for sure, but it is distinctive.

I have plants labeled both cryptopoda and wickensii and Patrick is correct, Van Wyk's book states they are synonymous. I have seen Aloes labeled as wickensii that seem to be a lot larger than my cryptopoda. But what I have labeled as wickensii has yet to flower...can't wait to compare the flowers. Here is a picture of my cryptopoda in bloom. Enjoy!